Kenny helps wee Natalya in a roundabout way

A local funfair operator has offered to give a third of his takings to a charity event being held at the end of the month in Hawick.

The event, on Saturday, September 30 at Burnfoot Community School, is being held to raise funds for a wee five-year-old girl called Natalya Anderson, who is in need of an electric wheelchair.

Kenny Stuart, who takes his range of rides and stalls across the country from his base in Selkirk, knows the family as Natalya’s mum Ashley Sim used to work with him.

He told us: “I saw the family at a funfair I had in Earlston at the weekend, and I told them what I could do for them. Basically all the rides will be £1.50, and 50p from each one will go towards the wheelchair. They are a really nice family.”

Natalya’s aunt Jackie Stewart said: “I’d really like to thank Kenny for doing this ... it’s such a nice thing to do.

“Natalya has a glioma brain stem tumour, and she has just finished a year of going to the Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh every Friday, so the poor wee lass has been through a lot.

“The event at Burnfoot school will hopefully help raise some of the £6,150 required for the wheelchair, which will help Natalya get around. It will be a great family day out, with Kenny’s funfair, bouncy castle, kiosk, face-painting and a raffle.”